Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre explains what you need to know about the decline in gas prices over the past month. pic.twitter.com/QpwaQECsH3
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 22, 2022
“Gas prices should continue to decline, and President Biden is committed to doing everything that he can to give families a little bit of breathing room.” – Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
What does the word “should” mean in the above sentence? “Gas prices SHOULD continue to decline…” Does “should” mean “ought to,” as in “people ought to put empty beer bottles in the recycling bin”? Those gas prices really OUGHT TO come down!
Or does “should” mean "will," referring to a scientifically-based projection? As in, “According to a study conducted by the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, we will see a decline in gas prices in coming weeks,” which would be a prediction based on data.
I suggest that the ambiguity of that key verb, “should,” is intentional. This ambiguous word was used by design, so that if gas prices don’t decline, Ms. Jean-Pierre can say, “Well, gas prices really SHOULD HAVE come down, but those greedy refinery owners kept prices high.” Or some other excuse can be offered for why what SHOULD HAVE happened did not happen.
What the American people want to hear is NOT that the price of gasoline “should” decline or even “ought to” decline. We want to know that THE PRICE OF GAS WILL CONTINUE TO DECLINE, and we want to know HOW MUCH IT WILL DECLINE and HOW SOON IT WILL GO BACK DOWN TO ITS LEVEL OF SIX MONTHS AGO.
Also, I don’t want to hear a prediction about the price of gas from the President’s press secretary which is based on who-knows-what? She didn’t say why the price would decline. If it’s true that “President Biden is committed to doing everything that he can” to bring down gas prices, then his press secretary should tell us exactly WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS DOING to bring down gas prices.
Whether our president is a Democrat or a Republican, I don’t trust that gas prices will do what the prez wants them to do. And I don’t give a fig for a press secretary’s predictions about gas prices. After all, she's not an economist. I want to know WHAT ACTIONS the administration will take to lower gas prices. And that is precisely the information that Biden’s press secretary did not give us.